title: [Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland in young children].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland is a rare malignant tumor mostly affecting adults. It accounts for 1 to 3 % of head and neck malignant tumors. It is very rarely observed in children under 10 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  A four-and-half-year-old boy was brought to consultation in our department, in June 2006, for a left cervical swelling having progressively increased over the previous two years. Cervical US confirmed the presence of a 2.3cm long tumor of the left parotid area, hyperechogenic and heterogenic, associated to a homolateral lymphadenopathy in the jugular and carotid region (zone II), 2cm in diameter. A total parotidectomy preserving the facial nerve was performed. The biopsy extemporaneous histological examination suggested a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Surgery was completed by functional neck dissection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our four-and-half-year-old patient was one of the youngest cases ever reported. Malignant parotid gland tumors are very rarely observed in children: less than 19 cases have been published worldwide. Its occurrence in a young child under ten years of age is very rare. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma accounts for one third of all malignant parotid gland tumors.
authors.affiliation: Service d'anatomie et de cytologie pathologiques, CHU Hassan II, Fès, Maroc. belghiti29@hotmail.com
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Belghiti
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Znati
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harmouch
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amarti
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zaki
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: El Alami
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D018277:Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D037981:Neck Dissection; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography